Priceless
by TassanaBurrfoot
Summary: A Yule Ball can be full of surprises.


Hermione stormed out of the castle. She was so angry at Ron, she could hardly think of anything else. How could he be so stubborn and stupid? He was so bloody…

She nearly screamed in frustration. As she got closer to the Black Lake, she did scream in frustration. She stomped her foot and paced in front of the lake. In the back of her mind she realized that she should be thankful she had taken off her shoes. But, it didn't matter at the moment. At the moment, she was busy screaming obscenities at Ron's idiocy.

Hermione wasn't the type of person to swear. The fact that she was swearing because of Ron made her swear even more. She just couldn't believe he would be so insensitive.

She closed her eyes and fought back the tears that were threatening to come. It was just a ball. It was a stupid ball that was held in honour of the Triwizard Tournament. She thought Ron would be happy for her. How many girls wanted to land a date with Viktor Krum? And she had been the lucky girl he had picked.

"I never thought I'd see the day when Granger was reduced to swear words," said a voice that startled her.

She swung around and saw Malfoy leaning against a tree. Her eyes narrowed. "What are you doing here, Malfoy?" she spat.

He raised an eyebrow. "I should ask you the same thing," he said. "I was sitting here, minding my own business, when you came stomping up here, saying all sorts of obscene things. Honestly, Granger, I don't know how much more my virgin ears can take."

She snorted, "You are a lot of things, Malfoy, but somehow I doubt a 'virgin' is one of them."

He put his hand to his heart in mock hurt. "You wound me, Granger," he said, though he didn't seem the least bit wounded. "I am shocked that my reputation has reached the Gryffindor Common Room."

"Not the Common Room. Just the girls' dormitories," she said, as she sighed.

She watched as he sat back down on one of the tree's roots. Though he was sarcastic and pompous, he acted surprisingly… cordial towards her. Then, she took in his clothes. His tie was undone and his robes looked a bit disheveled. "Where's Parkinson?" she asked, curious.

He sneered at her. "Where's Krum?" he retorted.

She took a seat near him and tucked her dress carefully around her. She sighed, "I told him I needed some time alone. Since I was upset, he didn't argue and told me to come back when I felt better. He said he'd wait for me."

"I ditched her," he said, leaning back against the tree and looking up at the stars. "She talks too much and whines when she doesn't get her way. While she was dancing with Nott, I left."

She looked surprised at him. "I thought you two were an item?"

He snapped, "And I thought you'd be coming to the ball with Potter or Weasley. I also didn't think you'd look so bloody…"

She watched as he trailed off, not completing his sentence. She had a feeling she knew what he was going to say, but didn't press the issue. She glanced up at the stars as well and a silence fell between them.

As time went by, she glanced at him and saw his eyes were closed. He was sleeping, or at least appeared so. She wondered momentarily if she should just leave him, but decided against it.

"Malfoy? We should probably get back up to the castle," she said.

"Shh," he whispered, "just enjoy the moment, Granger."

She looked confused, but didn't say anything. He opened his eyes and looked at her. A soft smile played on his lips.

Slowly, he stood up and dusted off his trousers, then, he held out a hand to her. She looked at it dubiously. "Come now, Granger, I'm not carrying any diseases," he teased.

Nervous, she took his hand and allowed him to help her up. She was surprised by his tenderness. She was even more surprised when he took out his handkerchief and began dabbing at her face. "Your mascara is running," he explained as he cleaned her face.

She was astounded by him and had no idea what he was planning. Then, to her greater astonishment, he asked, "Would you care to dance with me?"

"There's no music," was her instant reply.

He smiled. "Then, we'll have to use our imaginations."

With that, he took her by the hand and began leading her in a slow waltz. As they turned and stepped in time to music playing in his head, she asked, "Why are you doing this? Why are you being nice to me?"

He shrugged. "I'd blame it on firewhiskey, but I haven't had any. I guess you could say that this is the first time we've been alone and I'm not in the mood to pick a fight."

"I would think that because we are alone, you'd pick this as the perfect opportunity to pick a fight," she commented, though with little malice.

He nodded. "I would think that, too," he agreed. Then, he looked at her curiously. "Did you look in the mirror at all when you dressed tonight?"

She pinched her lips. "What is that supposed to mean? Of course I did! I had to look in the mirror to fix my hair and put on makeup."

He nodded. "Then, you know how beautiful you look tonight. A guy would be hell bent to pick a fight with someone as beautiful as you are tonight."

She wrinkled her nose. "You don't mean that," she said.

He turned her and brought her back to him. "Oh, but I do, Granger," he told her. "You may not want to believe it, but it's true. You are the belle of this ball and Krum is the luckiest guy in the world."

"How is he lucky?" she asked.

"Because he got to bring you," he replied. "He's dating this beautiful girl…"

"We aren't dating," she told him.

He smiled. "No?"

She shook her head. "No. Viktor and I are just friends. Nothing more."

"But, you would like to date him?" he prodded.

She thought about it for a moment, then shook her head. "No, I don't think I would. Being involved with him wouldn't work out. We live in two separate countries and, let's face it, long distance relationships rarely ever work out."

"But, if he lived here?"

"Why do you care so much?" She was beginning to find this conversation daunting and confusing.

"I'm just looking out for Potter and Weasley," he tried.

She snorted. "Rubbish. You don't care about Harry or Ron."

"You're right," he conceded. "I don't."

She looked up into his smoky eyes and gave him a peculiar look. "Then why are you asking?"

"Because, I want to make sure no one is going to come after me," he told her honestly.

Her eyebrows wrinkled. "Why would anyone come after you?"

"Because of this," he whispered and then he kissed her.

For a moment, Hermione was startled by the kiss and stood rock still. Her eyes were wide and alarmed as she stared at Malfoy's face, so close to her own. Then, as he attempted to deep the kiss, she found herself melding into him. Her eyes fluttered shut and she allowed him to guide her through the kiss. Their tongues danced around one another as their bodies melted together. She pushed her fingers through his white blonde locks as he held her close.

Then, almost as quickly as it began, the kiss ended. They did not break away from one another, just merely stared at each other, holding each other as their caught their breath. He caressed her cheek before pushing a lock of her hair out of her eyes. "I do hope that wasn't too forward," he whispered.

"Forward?" she breathed. "You kissed me."

Before she could argue, he kissed her again. This kiss was light and did not last nearly as long as the first. "Happy Christmas, Hermione," he whispered and she could not help but flutter at the seductive tone his voice had taken.

She had never heard him say her first name and she found she rather… liked it. Almost as if her name was meant to be spoken from his lips. Then, he gave her a elegant bow, turned on his heel, and left.

Her fingers strayed to her lips where she could still feel his lips. Her mouth could still taste him. She stood there in bemusement as she wondered about this crazy night.

(II)

Draco looked at the younger boy. "Did you get the picture?" he asked.

The boy was startled. "Yes. I still don't know what you want it for, Malfoy," he said.

Draco shrugged. "Don't worry about that part, Creevey. I will pay you five Galleons for that picture. Have it ready for me soon."

As Draco made his way back to the Slytherin Common Room and his dorm, he couldn't help but wonder about the turn of events for that night. He knew his father would never approve, but he found he didn't care as much. To Draco, kissing the most beautiful girl at the ball was worth it, even if she was a Muggle-born. And having a picture to remember it by… that was priceless.

* * *

**Author's Note:** I had posted this on , but thought I'd go ahead and post it here as well. What'cha think?


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